


energy

by thegirlwithmanynames



Category: Tokyo Ghoul
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-15
Updated: 2017-05-15
Packaged: 2018-10-31 23:12:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 893
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10909422
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thegirlwithmanynames/pseuds/thegirlwithmanynames
Summary: Sometimes, all you need is a cup of coffee to get you through the day. Nagachika Hideyoshi knows that more intimately than most people.





	energy

“You know that the more you show your shithead face in here, the more likely it is that one day I’ll snap and punch it, right?”

“That’s unfair, Nishio-senpai,” came the amused response from the customer extending himself lazily over the side of the counter as he waited for his drink. His chin was balanced on his open palm, one arm propped up to steady him. “I was coming to Anteiku _way_ before you started working here!”

“That was your bad decision, not mine,” Nishio replied with half a smirk, but before he could get too smug, the barista with the pompadour nudged him hard with his hip.

“No being rude about Anteiku!” he proclaimed as he walked by – and then, stopping briefly to throw a wink over his shoulder to the other boy, he added, “Or to customers.”

“It’s not like it’s anyone important,” Nishio grumbled as he turned to grab a cup and the other barista continued on his way, into a back room. “It’s only Nagachika, and he only comes in, oh, about _three times a week_.”

The latter was said with a hard glare in the blond’s direction, but all he got in response was a sheepish grin and an embarrassed scratch of the cheek.

“I’m hoping to catch Touka-chan,” he admitted with a sigh, looking mildly put out, “but she’s never around!” And then, with a playful raise of his eyebrows, he continued, “And anyway, aren’t I giving you business?”

“We don’t need business from stalkers,” Nishio replied with a roll of his eyes as he pressed a button. The machine made a loud whirring noise directly into Hide’s ear, making him start a little in surprise. When he looked up, the barista’s eyes were narrowed and the corner of his lip was twitching as he stared intently at the machine; that was enough for Hide to confirm his suspicions that the suddenness of the action had been intentional.

Taking the hint, the blond boy straightened up, instead resting his hip against the counter while Nishio, just as suddenly as he’d started up the machine, said, “Haven’t seen your annoying friend around in awhile, either. He’s the reason the rest of us have extra shifts coming out our asses.”

Hide stretched his arms upwards, watching as he spread his fingers and the ceiling appeared between them. His hands shook nearly imperceptibly; exhaustion, he knew, or rather _felt_ , all the way down to his bones. Without missing a beat, he laughed.

“Kaneki’s busy, you know?” was his response, dropping his shoulders into a shrug. “Taking too much on himself like always. It’s nothing new.”

Nishio’s hands stilled around the cup he was holding, though the machine had stopped pouring out the liquid. “You’d know him better than I would,” he said finally, pulling the cup out and placing it on the counter. “How did you say you wanted this? Milks, sugars…”

“Black, actually!” Hide chirped, turning back to face Nishio fully just as the latter’s face twisted into an imitation of a sneer, though his eyes were still wide behind his glasses.

_Does Nishio-senpai’s girlfriend know he’s a ghoul?_ Hide wondered morosely as his fingers absently tapped out a rhythm against the counter, the smile still brightening his expression. _He’s good at hiding it, but it’s got to be lonely when you’ve got someone close to you like that…_

The irony of the situation had not escaped him.

“What, is it midterms for you? Or finals already?” Nishio asked, still with the sneer on his face as he slid the cup over as it was. “I don’t think you’ve ever taken coffee black before.”

“Just trying something new!” he replied, hands up in mock surrender. “So many people here come through and order it, so I figure there’s got to be something good about it!”

“Yeah, I bet.” Though his tone was heavily sarcastic, he said nothing more than that, turning away and pulling a cloth from his apron to begin wiping the other side of the counter clean.

Raising the cup and toasting no one in particular, Hide stared at it for a moment. The liquid was a black like the darkest ink that professional calligraphers used, like thick brushstrokes falling, well-combed, into grey eyes fixated on a book. An innocuous cup, blurring the differences between humans and the ghouls and the mutual hunt that wrenched them apart.

“ _Kanpai_ ,” he murmured to himself, and raised the cup to his lips, taking in a long drink.

A moment later, his cheeks ballooned outward as he fought his very basest urge to spit it all out.

“It’s too strong!!” he exclaimed once he’d managed to swallow it down, his face screwed up in a grimace.

“You wanted it black,” came Nishio’s nonchalant response, though a smirk had appeared on his lips as he’d watched the whole thing happen.

“I bet Touka-chan would have made it better,” he pouted, moving his cup in circles and watching the coffee swirl around the sides.

“Don’t blame _me_ for not liking it, that’s your own damn fault.”

“You didn’t even make any art!”

“You can’t make art if you don’t put anything in it!”

Unbound by earthly disputes, the sun began to set on Anteiku as the two students continued their petty argument; the sky soon growing dark as a cup of black coffee.


End file.
